Crow nodded as Penelope told him to be safe on his raid. “Well, I was planning to make some risky moves, but for you, I’ll make an exception,” he winked at her jokingly. “Goodnight, love. I’ll see you again soon.” He watched as she walked into the forest, waiting again for her to disappear from his sight before he headed into his camp to sleep for the night. -- The next day, Crow and the other thieves worked on refining their plans for the upcoming raid on the knights’ camp. Since they were going to be taking more supplies than usual, they wanted to be as prepared as possible to make sure the heist went smoothly. Crow and Simon went out in the afternoon to scout around the perimeter of the nobles’ camp, noting where the guards were positioned and searching for blind spots that they could use to their advantage. The thieves planned to bring weapons, but they still wanted to avoid using them if it was at all possible. If a fight broke out, it would draw the attention of the other knights who would be asleep in their tents. Being far outnumbered by them, Crow knew that would mean he and his companions would be forced to retreat. They couldn’t afford to do that when their supplies were dwindling so low. This raid would make or break them coming into the fall season, so it was imperative that everything went according to plan. As the sun dipped lower in the sky, Crow and Simon finished their scouting and headed back to the waterfall to share their findings with the others. They returned to find Alistair and Rikki sparring on the riverbank, while Hazel was sitting off to the side reading one of Simon’s books. When they noticed the two walking back from the knights’ camp, they stopped what they were doing to hear the news. “So, what did you find?” Rikki asked, trotting over with Alistair to meet the other thieves halfway. Simon glanced at Crow in a silent indication that he should be the one to explain. Crow nodded and turned back to Alistair and Rikki, relaying everything they had found to the best of his ability. He described the number and positions of the guards in the camp, as well as where the most useful blind spots were. It was difficult to explain it all, since neither of his companions could see it for themselves, but luckily, his explanation seemed to be good enough for them. When he was finished talking, Rikki spoke up again. “So, what’s the plan now?” she asked. “We have quite a few things to steal this time.” “That’s why I’m going to assign everyone individual tasks,” Crow smirked, having already thought ahead about this. “Alistair and I will steal the weapons, you will steal the food, and Simon will steal the medical supplies and the medicines we’re going to sell to the villagers.” He had told them all about his idea to sell medicine in Wheldrake earlier that morning. Initially, there had been some pushback from the others, especially Simon, because they all knew it was more efficient to sell weapons to the Younisians. However, he managed to convince them that his plan was better after he brought up the fact that the knights had come after them after they had sabotaged their weapons last time. None of his companions were eager to repeat that again, so they gave in and agreed to his idea. “I happened to notice you didn’t mention anything about liquor,” Alistair pointed out with a frown. “Are we not going to drink afterwards? If we’re going to be taking this much, I want to celebrate.” “Me too,” Rikki crossed her arms. “You two are ridiculous,” Simon scoffed. “Can’t you go one raid without getting drunk?” “Staying sober after a successful heist?” Alistair wrinkled his nose. “No way.” “I have a compromise,” Crow suggested, getting their attention. “I’d rather not steal any more than we absolutely have to from the knights, but we can go to the Ivory Hatchet in Myrefall after we stow all of the supplies away.” He glanced between them, hoping they would be satisfied with the proposal. “They make good mead. What do you say?” “It’s been a while since we’ve all gone out to a tavern together,” Alistair mused with a grin. “I like it.” “Good enough for me,” Rikki shrugged and casted him a wink that sent a shiver down Crow’s spine. He made a mental note not to let himself get carried away when they went to the tavern. If she was planning to come onto him after they had all been drinking, he wanted to be clear headed enough to combat her advances. “You three enjoy losing your senses,” Simon rolled his eyes. “When we get back tomorrow, I’m going to stay here and enjoy the company of my wife.” “Not if we convince her to come with us,” Rikki smirked at him slyly. Simon faltered for a moment before regaining his composure. He cleared his throat, “Don’t bother. She wouldn’t come with you anyway.” “We’ll see about that,” Alistair exchanged a look with Rikki, and the two ran off towards the tree where Hazel was reading her book before Simon could stop them. “Oh gods,” Simon groaned under his breath before taking off after them. Crow snorted in amusement as he watched the three thieves race to the herbalist’s side. He doubted Simon would win this one. Hazel may not have been the most sociable woman in the group, but she loved a good drink. It wouldn’t be hard for Rikki and Alistair to convince her to join them at the tavern tomorrow night. He was glad she would be coming too. She got along well with Rikki, so if she came, the female thief wouldn’t cling to him as much. Suddenly more eager to persuade Hazel to join them as well, he made his way over to join the others in arguing against Simon.